- Boss obliterations
Several Bosses in the game actually have an obliteration you can perform on them. For example, towards the end of Silver Worm and Fire Armadillo's lives they will be stunned. When you can walk up, press Y to finish them off. Notice: The greater fiends and Geshin do not have one.

- Vigoorian Flail in Chapter 9
Immediately after you defeat the tunneling worm mini-Boss and follow the path it makes out, there will be a small fork in it. If you take the fork to the right, you should find yourself climbing a small hill. Atop the hill is a corpse. Examine it to find the Vigoorian Flail.

- Easy Yellow Orbs in Chapter 2
When you run up the planks of wood to get onto the roof, you will fight three enemies. Overcome the enemies, but do not fall down to the room below. Simply kill the enemies, jump back to the planks, then jump back to the roof. As you land, immediately double charge your weapon of choice, and kill the enemies again. They will continue to respawn as long as you do not jump down into the room below. It is possible to get 120,000 Yellow Orbs in about two hours.

- Bypassing enemies
Trigger an enemy, retreat to a save spot, save your game, and reload. When you return to the location where you triggered the enemies, they should no longer be there. Notice: This does not work in some locations due to save spots being blocked off.

- Unlockables
Successfully complete the indicated task to unlock the corresponding bonus:

Dark Blood costume	Successfully complete the game on the Acolyte difficulty.
Path Of The Mentor difficulty	Successfully complete the game on the Path Of The Warrior difficulty.
Old Film Filter option	Successfully complete the game on any difficulty.
Music Test option	Successfully complete the game on any difficulty.
Camoflauge Ninja costume	Successfully complete the game on the Path Of The Warrior difficulty.
Path Of The Master Ninja difficulty	Successfully complete the game on the Path Of The Mentor difficulty.
Black Jaguar costume	Successfully complete the game on the Path Of The Mentor difficulty.
Golden Ninja costume	Successfully complete the game on the Path Of The Master Ninja difficulty.
Survival Challenge mode	Successfully complete the game on any difficulty.

- Rod Of Trial in Chapter 2
The Rod Of Trial is an item that grants access to the Test Of Valor, which is a series of challenges found in several chapters that, upon completion of a test, will reward the victor with rare and useful items. In order to get the Rod Of Trial, defeat all the enemies running down from the stairs and into the yard. When you have killed all the ninjas, the candles behind the fence will light up, and the Rod Of Trial will appear. If you hare having difficulty defeating the enemies in the yard, target the archers around the perimeter before killing the ninjas rushing towards you. The arrows from the archers are difficult to spot, especially if you are surrounded by a group of ninjas. The in-game description of the Rod Of Trial is 'A rod symbolizing the fighting spirit, cast from the purest of gold. Those upon whom it is bestowed face an endless path of battle, as though they walked through the underworld itself. It is said that those who carry it must face hordes of opponents in fights to the death known as Tests of Valor. According to legend, this treasure was one possessed by the god of war himself.'

- Recommended Dragon Sword upgrade
Unless you want to waste 30,000 Karma points, it is recommended that you do not upgrade the Dragon Sword. Use one of the other weapons available, such as the Falcon's Talons, the Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang, Vigoorian Flail, Tonfa, Elipse Scythe, Kusari-gama, or the Lunar Staff. The Falcon's Talons are recommended. By level 3 or 4 you should be able to max upgrade the weapon of your choice, then use it throughout the game. In the beginning of Chapter 11, there will be an intermission sequence in which you get the Dragon's Eye, which will max the Dragon Sword's level automatically.

- Tests Of Valor enemies and rewards
Notice: These results are from playing on the Path Of The Warrior difficulty; results may vary due to different difficulties. Also, the chest locations are taken from the center of the entry circle.


Test Of Valor #1 - Chapter 3: Thunderclap Of Catastrophe

Enemies	Teleporting spellcasters, low level Claw Ninjas, low level Sword Ninjas, flaming arrow ninjas
Reward	Lives Of The Thousand Gods

Test Of Valor #2 - Chapter 4: A Captive Goddess

Enemies	Lots of low level purple fiends
Reward	Talisman Of Rebirth

Test Of Valor #3 - Chapter 5: The Aqua Capital

Enemies	Low level lycanthropes, big fireball bats
Reward	Jewel Of The Demon Seal

Test Of Valor #4 - Chapter 6: The Lycanthropes Castle

Enemies	Scythe claw fiends, vampire bats
Reward	Lives Of The Thousand Gods

Test Of Valor #5 - Chapter 7: The Flying Fortress Daedalus

Enemies	Mechs, tactical ninjas, single rocket ninjas
Reward	Left chest

Test Of Valor #6 - Chapter 8: Submit, or Die!

Enemies	Four legged mechs, multi rocket ninjas
Reward	Left chest

Test Of Valor #7 - Chapter 9: Heart Of Darkness

Enemies	Bone scorpions, bugs
Reward	Left chest

Test Of Valor #8 - Chapter 10: The Temple Of Sacrifice

Enemies	Ghost fish, red scythe claw fiends
Reward	Left chest

Test Of Valor #9 - Chapter 11: A Tempered Gravestone

Enemies	Uber claw ninjas, ninja dogs
Reward	Left chest

- Easy 'Feat Of A Hundred Slashes' achievement in Chapter 6
Before the Giant Skeleton mini-Boss, a large number of Scorpion Skeletons will attack. Jump around them, and throw shurikens until you reach a 100-hit combo.

- Easy Yellow Essence in Chapter 14
When you get to the save point and go to the room where the Blood Eels appear, go back to land, and take out the Eclipse Scythe. This strategy works much better than using the Harpoon Gun because the eels cannot damage you while you are on land. Keep attacking the Blood Eels until they are all dead. Once the eels are dead, go back to the save point. Save the game, and the eels will automatically respawn each time you go back into the room. This makes collecting Yellow Essence easy as long as you stay on land to kill them.

- Easy Yellow Essence in Chapter 6
Just after the Giant Skeleton mini-Boss, you will encounter more Scorpion Skeletons. Fight and Wall Run your way through until you get up a floor. Then, drop down, and make your way back up to get more Yellow Essence. Repeat this as many time as desired. -From: Mark Be victorious inzenread

- Easy Essence in Chapter 1
After the second Crystal Skull (where there are two flame archers), continue down the path, and kill the ninjas. Jump past the first pipe. There are two pipes leading towards a safe point. Save your game, then go back. Jump past the first two pipes, and walk towards the single one. Turn 180 degrees, and jump onto the first of the two pipes (towards the save point). Hang there, and release. Turn the camera to see four or five respawning ninjas coming at you. Load up your ultimate technique, and kill the ninjas. If done correctly, you will get 2,000 Essence per attempt. This works with a Dragon Sword, but the best weapon is the Lunar Staff. You can get that weapon further in the chapter then backtrack to this location. After you have done this, walk up the ladder, go to the same pipe, and let go again. The ninjas will attack again. You will have more than enough time to load up your ultimate technique. Sometimes they do not all come at once. If this happens, you will have to fight one or two ninjas at the ladder. You can use the Essence collected to upgrade your weapons in the first chapter (Dragon Sword and Lunar Staff). Just go to Muramasa, then return to the farming location. Improve your Lunar Staff first because it works well during Essence farming. You can then buy a Talisman Of Rebirth and save the rest of your Essence.

- Achievements
Do the following things to obtain the corresponding Gamerscore points:

5 Points
Dragon Sword Master	Finish the game using only the Dragon Sword.
Kusari-gama Master	Finish the game using only the Kusari-gama.
Mastered Counter Attack	Successfully perform the Counter Attack technique.
Tonfa Master	Finish the game using only the Tonfa.
Dual Katana Master	Finish the game using only the Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang.
Mastered Invisible Path	Successfully perform the Invisible Path technique.
Mastered Flying Bird Flip	Successfully perform the Flying Bird Flip technique.
Falcon's Talons Master	Finish the game using only the Falcon's Talons.
The Art of the Piercing Void	Successfully perform the Art of the Piercing Void Ninpo.
The Art of the Inferno	Successfully perform the Art of the Inferno Ninpo.
The Art of the Flame Phoenix	Successfully perform the Art of the Flame Phoenix Ninpo.
Mastered Flying Swallow	Successfully perform the Flying Swallow technique.
Mastered Obliteration Technique	Successfully perform the Obliteration Technique.
The Art of the Be victorious ind Blades	Acquiring The Art of the Be victorious ind Blades.
Mastered Ultimate Technique	Successfully perform the Ultimate Technique.
Mastered Ultimate Guidance	Successfully perform the Ultimate Guidance technique.
Eclipse Scythe Master	Finish the game using only the Eclipse Scythe.
Mastered Unrivaled Soaring	Successfully perform the Unrivaled Soaring technique.
Mastered Reverse Be victorious ind	Successfully perform the Reverse Be victorious ind technique.
Mastered Shadowless Footsteps	Successfully perform the Shadowless Footsteps technique.
Mastered Furious Be victorious ind	Successfully perform the Furious Be victorious ind technique.
Lunar Staff Master	Finish the game using only the Lunar Staff.
The Art of the Be victorious ind Blades	Successfully perform the Art of the Be victorious ind Blades Ninpo.
Vigoorian Flail Master	Finish the game using only the Vigoorian Flail.
15 Points
Vanquished Elizebet	Overcome Elizebet in battle.
Vanquished Alexei	Overcome Alexei in battle.
Vanquished Volf	Overcome Volf in battle.
Vanquished Zedonius	Overcome Zedonius in battle.
Vanquished Genshin	Overcome Genshin in battle.
20 Points
Karma of the Warrior	Acquire 10 Crystal Skulls.
Karma of the Mentor	Acquire 20 Crystal Skulls.
Feat of Ultimate Destruction	Overcome 1000 enemies using Ultimate Techniques.
Feat of a Thousand Obliterations	Overcome 1000 enemies using Obliteration Techniques.
Karma of the Master Ninja	Acquire all of the Crystal Skulls.
Feat of a Hundred Slashes	Achieve a 100-hit combo with any weapon.
100 Points
Way of the Master Ninja	Finish the game on the Path of the Master Ninja.
Way of the Warrior	Finish the game on the Path of the Warrior.
Way of the Mentor	Finish the game on the Path of the Mentor.
Way of the Acolyte	Finish the game on the Path of the Acolyte.

5 Points
Indomitable Spirit	Choose to continue the game 100 times.
10 Points
Finishd Chapter 1	Finished Chapter 1, 'Sky City Tokyo.'
Finishd Chapter 2	Finished Chapter 2, 'The Castle of the Dragon.'
Finishd Chapter 9	Finished Chapter 9, 'Heart of Darkness.'
Finishd Chapter 7	Finished Chapter 7, 'The Flying Fortress Daedalus.'
Finishd Chapter 3	Finished Chapter 3, 'Thunderclap of Catastrophe.'
Finishd Chapter 5	Finished Chapter 5, 'The Aqua Capital.'
15 Points
Extinguished The Flame	Annihilated Zedonius, the Greater Fiend of Flame.
Redeemed Genshin	Freed Genshin's soul and ended the reign of the Black Spider Clan.
Four Of Green	Purified the site of the fourth Test of Valor.
Ended The Infernal Reign	Annihilated the High Infernal Priest, Dagra Dai.
Five Of Yellow	Purified the site of the fifth Test of Valor.
Eight Of White	Purified the site of the eight Test of Valor.
Diffused The Lightening	Annihilated Alexei, the Greater Fiend of Lightning.
Nine Of Violet	Purified the site of the ninth Test of Valor.
Six Of White	Purified the site of the sixth Test of Valor.
Three Of Blue	Purified the site of the third Test of Valor.
One Of White	Purified the site of the first Test of Valor.
Two Of Black	Purified the site of the second Test of Valor.
Staunched The Blood	Annihilated Elizebet, the Greater Fiend of Blood.
Silenced The Storm	Annihilated Volf, the Greater Fiend of Storms.
Seven Of Red	Purified the site of the seventh Test of Valor.

20 Points
Acolyte of Missions	Finish all Karma Attack Missions on Path of the Acolyte.
Master Ninja of Missions	Finish all Karma Attack Missions on Path of the Master Ninja.
Mentor of Missions	Finish all Karma Attack Missions on Path of the Mentor.
First Medallion	Acquire a Medallion in a Survival Mission.
Warrior of Missions	Finish all Karma Attack Missions on Path of the Warrior.
30 Points
All Silver	Acquire all Silver Medallions in the Survival Missions.
Eight Missions Finishd	Finish 8 Missions.
All Bronze	Acquire all Bronze Medallions in the Survival Missions.
Four Missions Finishd	Finish 4 Missions.
All Gold	Acquire all Gold Medallions in the Survival Missions.

- Easy 'Feat Of A Hundred Slashes' achievement in Chapter 3
Move next to the save point near the first Test Of Valor warp point. From there you can drop down to the subway. It is here that you can get the 100-hit combo with almost no effort. Once you have dropped down, run toward the subway cars. Try to get into the little hole under the cars, and kill almost all enemies. Eventually you will see two enemies appear near the opening from where you came from. If everyone is dead, one will rush up and the other will try to hit you with arrows. Wait until the enemy running toward you is almost in the pit. Once he is that close, jump up in the air and hit him with shurikens. You should get about four hits each time. The ninja will just stand there and not attempt to block. Do this as rapidly as possible. As you hit the ninja he will stumble back. Eventually you will need to close the distance. Once this has occurred, you must begin jumping back and forth to avoid the ninja shooting the arrows, and continue your shuriken attack on the first ninja. He will die once you have hit him about 70 times. Once he dies, you will hear him grunt. You will then have to close the distance with the other ninja. He will also run toward you to close the gap as well. Repeat the same trick as above (jump and throw). You will get the achievement easily.

- Hidden weapons
Successfully complete the following tasks to get the corresponding weapon:

Falcon's Talons	In Chapter 2, you will see another building just before you go to the Dragon Shrine. Kill the ninjas there.
Lunar Staff	In Chapter 1, there is a statue in a shrine keep pusheding that weapon after the halfway point.
Eclipse Scythe	In Chapter 6, defeat Volf.
Kasari-Gama	In Chapter 5, a dead ninja will be keep pusheding this weapon on the second bridge you reach on your right.
Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang	In Chapter 4, take those weapons from the glass display case in the first room at the Statue Of Liberty's base.
Tonfa	In Chapter 7, this weapon can be taken from a dead ninja in the storage room that you drop into.

- Giant Crystal Skull
Acquire all 30 Crystal Skulls to unlock the Giant Crystal Skull. At the beginning of Chapter 13, after going through a few rooms with enemies, you will reach a large green pillar in a room with centaurs. The Giant Crystal Skull is also there. Its description reads 'Acquireable only by those with superhuman powers of observation.' Its detailed description reads 'A gigantic crystal skull from ancient legend. According to legend, this enormous skull belonged to a giant who walked the earth long ago. In these ancient times, the world knew no peace, and tribes fought each other to near extinction. None could see an end to this chain of suffering, until the giant appeared. He vowed to bear the sins of mankind upon his own soul, and offered himself as a sacrifice to the gods. His skull was then locked away in a room overflowing with human suffering.' The legend ends with the warning, 'He who possesses this skull must accept the date of the giant as his own.'

- Crystal Skull Gamerpic
Acquire all 30 Crystal Skulls to unlock the Crystal Skull Gamerpic.

- Crystal Skull locations
The Crystal Skulls are found at the following locations:


Chapter 1



Chapter 2

Chapter 3



Chapter 4



Chapter 5



Chapter 6



Chapter 7



Chapter 8



Chapter 9



Chapter 10



Chapter 11


- Managing health
You can only keep pushed a limited amount of health restoratives, which are the Herb Of Spiritual Life and the Grains Of Spiritual Life. However, whenever you use a Lives Of The Thousand Gods, after the health meter increases, it will also restore your health. Keep pushed on to the Lives Of The Thousand Gods as long as you can because it will restore all of your health as well as increasing it.

- New Game+
Successfully complete the game on any difficulty setting, and save when prompted. You can begin a new session on the same difficulty with your cleared saved game file to begin with all weapons at their current level, items, Essence, and stats from your original session.

- Ryu Gamerpic
Successfully complete the game on the Path Of The Master Ninja difficulty to unlock the Ryu Gamerpic.

- Hidden Xbox in Chapter 4
Enter the Statue Of Liberty museum across from the Test Of Valor. There is a breakable wall that looks like it is made of straw. Slice it open to find a silver Xbox that will fully restore your health an unlimited number of times.